Spirituality and Political Activity Can Co-Exist
(In an email chat with my good friend Paul Jimerson @pauljimerson, a Baha'i for whom I have great respect, I found myself addressing the question of how to reconcile a fundamental spiritual belief that radical political action is incompatible with a true spirituality based in Oneness, and a gut-level perceived need to do something. What resulted seemed worth sharing.)
I think the key to our dilemma lies in the Christian admonition to be in the world but not of it and in an acknowledgement of the deep truth of the Buddhist teaching that suffering derives from attachment to outcomes. We suffer when we are tied to specific outcomes that we establish in our own minds. So, e.g., in terms of environmentalism if I were to be attracted to that as a primary socio-political cause, I would try hard to be focused on solutions rather than problems, and open to a potential range of solutions rather than focusing on one specific law or action that I had determined was the best. For me, in these cases, it's about integrating the idea that the wisdom of Spirit (or the Universe if you will) far exceeds my own.
When I meditate, contemplate or pray about political concerns, I am (or try to be) careful to add, "This or something better" to my prayer when it does focus on a desired specific outcome.
I am anti-capital punishment. I can (and do) pray for the United States to become sufficiently enlightened to outlaw its use. But I have recently become more open to other solutions Spirit might bring to bear such as:
- enlightening humanity to the point where we no longer kill each other
- awakening Americans so that they no longer favor capital punishment (in some polls) heavily enough to offer political cover to those who govern
- reforming the justice system so that the chances of executing an innocent person decline to near zero (not a real solution, in my mind, but clearly a significant potential improvement)
- sudden spiritual awakening around the demonstrated execution of an innocent person (such as happened in Illinois a few years back) that results in a single, bold executive decision to suspend the practice indefinitely
I'm sure there are others. The point isn't to be specific about alternative outcomes but to be open to them. I have found Buddhism's teaching that suffering comes from being tied to the outcome to be so repeatedly true in my life that I have tried earnestly to avoid attachment. I'm a long way from there, but I'm a lot closer than I once was.
(BTW, if this is an area you find interesting, I heartily recommend Marianne Williamson's wonderful book, Healing the Soul of America: Reclaiming Our Voice as Spiritual Citizens, recently re-issued under its new title. The book isn't really America-specific; it has global value and meaning.)
